Drummers: a drum notation question for you
I Am Not A Drummer.
I'm digitizing a piece that has a drum staff and I don't know how to interpret these symbols.
The "15" means that it's a "15-stroke roll". Correct?
My question: Are the 15 strokes supposed to last over the entire three eighth notes? Or only over the one? If the latter, what should the quarter note with tremolo sound like?
Comments
Possibly, the 15 just means that this is the fifteenth measure/bar in this section. I think this is common in percusssion/drum parts to make it easier for the performer when there are many identical bars. The percussionist can quickly see that he/she is going to play the same thing for forteen bars ane then in bar 15 do something else.
Yes, it's a 15 stroke drum "roll", although whether is meant to be 32nd notes or 16th notes, the notation is ambiguous. I suspect 32nds but we'd need to know what it's tied to in the next bar.
In reply to Yes, it's a 15 stroke drum … by rothers
@AndreasKågedal :: Definitely not, since these are the 11th and 12th measures and then, later an identical passage on the 29th and 30th measures. Not a bad guess, though, given the limited context.
@rothers :: Here's a little more context. Basically, it's tied/slurred (?) to the same thing in the next measure.
The tie between measures seems incorrect to me, but that's the way it's notated. *shrug*
In reply to @AndreasKågedal ::… by TheHutch
See if this video helps any.
https://www.google.com/search?q=snare+drum+roll+technique+notation&sca_…
In reply to See if this video helps any… by bobjp
Bob :: This link doesn't open for me: just a blank page. Can you please copy/paste the link of the target rather than the search?
In reply to Yes, it's a 15 stroke drum … by rothers
cant be 32nd because a 1.5 beat 32nd tremolo is 13 notes
In reply to cant be 32nd because a 1.5… by The_funiii
It's not (necessarily!) a 32nd, nor (necessarily!) a 16th nor any other specific note duration. Instead, it's a 15-stroke roll. I'm asking if the notation as written (by Sousa, in case I didn't say si already) indicates that the roll is played over the one 8th note or over all three. Either can be notated. I'm asking which did Sousa mean?
In reply to It's not (necessarily!) a… by TheHutch
Here's, well, a good read. Seems the "expert" drummers can even agree amongst themselves.
https://www.reddit.com/r/percussion/comments/173shs6/what_do_these_numb…
In reply to Here's, well, a good read… by rothers
Hunh! That sure is different than Sousa's instruction book says.
So, apparently drummers have never been able to agree on how to play their instrument.